Latest news with #Mel'sDiner
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Suge Knight: A rap rivalry
It's the rivalry that has defined hip-hop for a generation. And, according to many in law enforcement, it has claimed the lives of at least two of rap's brightest stars. Sean "Diddy" Combs vs. Marion "Suge" Knight. Their names are synonymous with the explosion of hip-hop, and the bad blood between the two moguls emerged as a central pop culture plotline of the 1990s. Inside the music industry, their respective record labels – Combs' Bad Boy Records and Knight's Death Row -- vied for market share. On the streets of cities like Los Angeles and New York, their personas clashed and their allies fought as part of what came to be known as the battle between the East and West Coast rap scenes. In the East, Combs stood tall. Bad Boy Records boasted the top talent of the Notorious B.I.G. – aka Biggie Smalls – and, authorities said, often hired members of the Crips street gang for security. In the West, it was the domain of Knight and Death Row Records, which, police said, had long-standing connections with the Crips' rivals, the Bloods. Atop the Death Row roster was Tupac Shakur. The grudge between Combs and Knight was a key focus of testimony Tuesday at Combs' ongoing sex-trafficking and racketeering trial in Manhattan, in which Combs has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. On the stand, Combs' former personal assistant, David James, said one night in 2008, he spotted Knight and his entourage eating at Mel's Diner in Hollywood. He testified that Combs, upon hearing that, wanted to confront the rival group. The grudge between Combs and Knight was a key focus of testimony Tuesday at Combs' ongoing sex-trafficking and racketeering trial in Manhattan, in which Combs has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. On the stand, Combs' former personal assistant, David James, said one night in 2008, he spotted Knight and his entourage eating at Mel's Diner in Hollywood. He testified that Combs, upon hearing that, wanted to confront the rival group. "I was really struck by it. I realized for the first time, being Mr. Combs' assistant, that my life was in danger," James testified. A short time later, he gave his notice and left the company. The enmity between Knight and Combs was fueled by insults – perceived, real and even put to lyrics – and in the era of hip-hop getting hot in the mainstream, the two groups feuded on stage, and in the streets. Taking the stage at the August 1995 Source Awards in New York City, Knight hurled a thinly-veiled insult at Combs, publicly taunting Combs for allegedly stealing the spotlight from the artists whose music he produced. In June 1996, Shakur released "Hit 'Em Up," which called out Biggie, Combs and Bad Boy by name, and bragged about sleeping with Biggie's wife. The song further inflamed the feud. "The East Coast, West Coast rivalry led to a lot of bad blood between Suge, Death Row, and Puffy and Bad Boy. Both were big at the time," said retired NYPD Det. Derrick Parker, the first cop assigned to investigate crime in the hip-hop world. Parker was known on the streets as the "Hip-Hop Cop." "As soon as these guys started to become big in the industry, they started aligning themselves with certain people – they started bringing in the gangs, people affiliated with the gangs, and then came the diss records," Parker said. "The beef between them started to go on wax, on records, on tapes, on music. And it just got worse," Parker said. "And the beef got louder and louder, it got more problematic, more violent." The rivalry turned deadly in the fall of 1996. On Sept. 7, Shakur was riding around Vegas in a BMW driven by Knight when a fusillade of gunfire rained down on them. Six days later, Shakur was dead. The only man ever arrested in connection with the killing has previously alleged that Combs requested the murder: Duane "Keffe D" Davis told police Combs put a bounty on the lives of his rivals, Knight and Shakur. Combs has repeatedly denied any involvement in the killing and has never been named as a suspect or a person of interest by authorities in connection with the homicide. Davis, in police interviews, the pages of his own co-authored memoir and in media appearances, has previously told a different story - one he now denies. "I'll give anything for those dude's heads," Davis said Combs told him months before Shakur's death, according to a police report on their interview with Davis in 2008. His accounts of alleged conversations with Combs came during interviews with police in 2008 and 2009, obtained by ABC News, and later in on-camera interviews and the 2019 memoir with his name on it, "Compton Street Legend." Amid mushrooming violence and tensions between the two groups, Combs worried about "retaliation" and "began to solicit Davis to kill Knight and Shakur," according to the police report on Davis' 2008 interview. More than once, Combs repeated the offer, Davis alleged: summoning him at a Hollywood eatery, Combs "again told Davis he [Combs] needed to get rid of Knight and Shakur. Combs offered Davis $1,000,000 to handle the problem. Davis remembers Combs being very afraid of Knight," the report said. Tensions had already begun boiling over months before Shakur's killing when a fight broke out between a number of Bloods and Crips over a coveted Death Row medallion. Among the scuffling group was Davis' nephew, Orlando Anderson, according to police interviews and grand jury testimony. It was an act of "war" between the two groups that would warrant "retaliation," a Crip affiliate testified before Davis' indicting grand jury. On Sept. 7, 1996, gang members and glitterati alike convened in Las Vegas for a Mike Tyson fight. In the crowds, Shakur and Knight caught sight of Davis' nephew and identified him as the would-be medallion snatcher, according to prosecutors. A brawl ensued. That beatdown gave Davis and his crew "the ultimate green light" to take revenge, his memoir said – and which prosecutors have quoted. Paired with the request he said Combs had made, vengeance for his nephew was a "double whammy," motivating him to seek out Shakur and Knight, according to the memoir. Davis, behind bars and awaiting trial for orchestrating Shakur's killing, now insists he is "innocent." In his first interview since being arrested in September 2023, Davis told ABC News in March that he's "never read" the memoir ascribed to him, and only confessed to his purported role in the crime because he was getting paid to lie. His trial for Shakur's murder is set for February 2026. He has pleaded not guilty. Six months after Shakur was killed, Biggie Smalls was gunned down in Los Angeles, in what detectives have theorized was orchestrated revenge for Shakur's murder. Smalls was killed after leaving through a rear entrance of an overcrowded awards afterparty that was also attended by Combs. The rapper and the mogul were in separate cars. The hip-hop icons' back-to-back deaths would punctuate years of escalating hostility and traded barbs between the groups. "The rivalry between the gangs was all part and parcel of that East Coast-West Coast war," Parker said. "This was how the rap world was. It was very violent, very turbulent at that time. That beef between them marked the hip-hop scene for more than a generation." Knight is currently in prison, serving a 28-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter stemming from a 2015 fatal hit-and-run. That case is not connected to Combs, Shakur or Smalls. He did not respond Tuesday to questions about the Combs trial.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Takeaways from Sean ‘Diddy' Combs trial: Cassie Ventura's mom and exotic dancer testify
A former assistant to Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Cassie Ventura's mother and an exotic dancer nicknamed 'The Punisher' all testified during Combs' federal criminal trial on Tuesday as the prosecution continued to make its case against the hip-hop mogul. The testimony Tuesday, touching on business, family and sex, was used to bolster allegations that Ventura, Combs' ex-girlfriend, laid out on the stand last week. Prosecutors also said they plan to call Scott Mescudi, the musician known as Kid Cudi, to the stand Wednesday or Thursday. The prosecution has argued Combs and some in his inner circle used threats, violence, drugs, bribery, arson, kidnapping and lies to coerce Ventura and another woman into participating in sex parties he called 'Freak Offs' and to protect the music mogul's reputation. The defense has acknowledged Combs was violent with romantic partners and during opening statements said he had 'a bit of a different sex life.' They also said that while Combs is 'a very flawed individual,' he has not committed the alleged federal crimes. Combs has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted of the most serious charges, he could face up to life in prison. Here's what we learned from testimony Tuesday. David James, a former assistant to Combs from 2007 to 2009, testified that he at times would gather supplies for Combs' hotel rooms, including items that prosecutors say were used in Combs' sex parties known as 'Freak Offs.' James said that he would make sure Combs' hotel rooms were stocked with things like Combs' clothing, a toiletry bag, a medicine bag, food and drinks. The medicine bag typically carried 25-30 pill bottles including Ecstasy and Percocet, according to James. At times, those items would include 'personal items' like baby oil, AstroGlide and condoms, which prosecutors have said were used in 'Freak Offs.' James said he would ask security to be reimbursed from the cash Combs kept on hand. During cross-examination, James testified that he was instructed not to submit these items for reimbursement through the company because they were 'items he didn't want to have a record for.' Further, James testified that he saw Combs take drugs and give them to his friends, and on a couple of occasions, James procured drugs for Combs' friends. James did not testify about any personal knowledge of 'Freak Offs.' But he said he once keyed into a hotel room to drop off Combs' iPod and saw Ventura passed out in a bed and a naked man who scurried away. He said he heard the shower running and assumed Combs was in it. James also testified about a near-confrontation between Combs and Suge Knight, the then-rival music executive of Death Row Records. The incident began after James and a security guard spoke with Knight at a restaurant called Mel's Diner then saw him wielding a gun in the parking lot and reported the sighting to Combs, who was at home. Combs ordered James to drive him and the security guard back to Mel's Diner to look for Knight, he testified. Combs sat in the back seat with three handguns in his lap, James said. Knight was gone when they got back to the restaurant. On cross-examination, defense attorney Marc Agnifilo questioned James about his recollection of the incident and whether he spoke up when Combs allegedly told him to go to the diner. 'Respectfully, Sir, you have someone with three guns in this close proximity, I didn't think I had the option to say something,' James said. Asked if he was granted immunity for his testimony, James said he wasn't sure but believes he signed a proffer agreement. In general, a proffer agreement is one in which prosecutors agree not to prosecute someone in exchange for their testimony. James' testimony also offered a glimpse into what working under Combs was like. One of Combs' personal assistants had to go to the hospital for dehydration after working with Combs for 24 hours straight, James testified. He said the work was hard, but he was 'prepared for the moment' and enjoyed it at times. He testified there was a common saying among Combs' security guards: 'You know what rhymes with tired? Fired.' James testified that there was camaraderie among Combs' staff and that they would often say Bad Boy was a family. He confirmed he felt a sense of mission working for Combs. 'To make sure that he was happy and prepared for the day,' James said of the mission. Regina Ventura, the mother of Cassie Ventura, testified Tuesday she took out a loan and wired $20,000 to Combs' record label Bad Boy on Combs' request in 2011 because she was 'scared about my daughter's safety.' Cassie Ventura, home for the holidays in December 2011, told her mom that an angry Combs beat her when he learned she was romantically involved with the rapper Kid Cudi. Her mother photographed the bruises to 'memorialize' the abuse, she testified as the jury viewed the photos. Cassie Ventura also sent her mother an email from her daughter, using the alias 'Veronica Bang,' saying Combs had threatened to release two explicit tapes of her, including one around Christmas Day, Regina Ventura testified. 'He has also said that he will be having someone hurt me and Scott Mescudi physically (he made a point that it wouldn't be by his hands, he actually said he'd be out of the country when it happened),' the email said. Cassie Ventura testified last week that her relationship with Mescudi, the musician who goes by the name Kid Cudi, prompted Combs to threaten them both. She said she broke up with Kid Cudi soon after to keep them safe. On the stand Tuesday, Regina Ventura said she felt 'physically sick' when she read the email, which was also sent to one of Combs' employees. 'I did not understand a lot of it. The sex tapes threw me. I did not know the other person but knew that he was going to try to hurt my daughter,' she said. Around that same time, Combs contacted Regina Ventura and her husband, she said. 'He was going to need $20,000 to recoup money he had spent on her because he was angry that she had been in a relationship with Scott Mescudi,' she testified. Regina Ventura went to the credit union, took a home equity loan to obtain the $20,000, and then wired the money to the Bad Boy account, she testified. About four or five days later, the money was returned to her account, but she did not have any communications with Combs about it, Ventura testified. The defense did not ask her any questions. A male exotic dancer nicknamed 'The Punisher' testified Tuesday he was paid to have sexual encounters with Ventura in hotel rooms while Combs watched and told them what to do. 'My understanding was we were creating a scene, a sexy scene, that was enjoyable to her partner,' testified Sharay Hayes. Hayes said the liaisons began with him and Ventura putting baby oil on each other while Combs watched and directed them. He was told to ignore Combs and try not to look at him, he testified. The encounters, which generally lasted about four hours, typically escalated into sex with Ventura, he testified. Hayes usually received $1,200 or $2,000 after a session. He said he never used drugs with Ventura and Combs and never saw Combs take drugs or appear intoxicated. On cross-examination, he said that as an experienced exotic dancer, he always reads a room to make sure everyone is comfortable. 'I did not get any cues that there was a discomfort with what was going on,' he testified. 'It seemed as if it was consented, as far as I was concerned.' Hayes is the second person to testify in the trial about sexual encounters with the former couple. Prosecutors have said Combs used drugs and violence to coerce Ventura into participating in these 'Freak Offs' that could last for days. Gerard Gannon, special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, testified Tuesday about the search of Combs' Miami Beach home in which they found guns, ammunition and baby oil. Gannon was the special agent in charge on the ground for the search of Combs' Star Island home on March 25, 2024. About 80-90 law enforcement agents participated in the search because of the size of the property, he said. Agents used their vehicle to break through the front gate to enter the property, Gannon testified. He said it was standard practice when conducting a search warrant as the 'quickest and safest option to be able to get onto the property.' In the search of Combs' bedroom closet, agents found parts of AR-15 firearms with scratched out serial numbers and two loaded magazines, as well as seven-inch platform high-heeled shoes, sex toys, baby oil, personal lubricant and lingerie, Gannon testified. Gannon rose from the witness stand and picked bags of evidence off a metal cart beside him. After putting blue latex gloves on his hands, he cut open one of the clear evidence bags and pulled out part of an AR-15 rifle. Gannon held it in his hands in front of his body and walked a few steps toward the jury so they could see the weapon. Gannon is expected to continue to testifying about the search Wednesday morning.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Diddy Brought Guns to Confront Suge Knight at a Diner, Ex-Assistant Testifies: ‘My Life Was in Danger'
One of Sean 'Diddy' Combs' former personal assistants testified at his criminal trial on Tuesday and detailed a terrifying incident involving Combs and his rival, Suge Knight. According to David James, who worked for Combs from 2007 to 2009, Combs once took three handguns into the car around the end of his tenure and instructed James to drive to Mel's Diner in Los Angeles, where they believed Knight to be. More from Variety Diddy Trial: Dawn Richard Faces Tough Cross-Examination as Sean Combs' Lawyer Reveals Inconsistencies in Her Testimony Cassie Expects $10 Million Settlement From InterContinental for Diddy Hotel Assault Cassie Threatened Man in 2014 Over Fears of Leaked 'Freak-Off' Video: 'I Will Kill You and Hide You' Just before that, at around 4 a.m., James had driven to the diner with one of Combs' security guards, Damion Butler (aka D-Roc), to pick up food for Combs and members of his entourage. As they parked the car, a silver Lincoln Navigator, Butler recognized Knight in a car parked a few spots away. Per James, Butler approached Knight and said, 'It's me, D-Roc, Biggie's boy,' referring to the late rapper the Notorious B.I.G., who was signed to Combs' Bad Boy Records. (Knight, who is now serving time in prison for a fatal hit-and-run, ran the rival label Death Row Records. While there is no definitive proof, Knight is often speculated to have been involved with the murder of Notorious B.I.G. in 1997. That murder remains unsolved.) Knight apparently responded to Butler by saying, 'What are you doing in my city?,' to which Butler said, 'Getting money, you know what it is.' The two then engaged in a friendly handshake. James said he and Butler then went inside Mel's Diner to order takeout food, when James noticed four black SUVs pull into the parking lot, and a man handed Knight a gun. Per James, Butler said, 'We got to fucking go,' and the two of them managed to get in the car and escape back to Combs' house in the Hollywood Hills. When they arrived, Combs told James and Butler to get into a different car, a black Escalade, and instructed James to drive back to the diner. At one point, James looked back and saw Combs in the backseat with three handguns in his lap. 'I had a weird sense of calm,' James said. Because they had switched cars, he thought Knight might not see them coming. But he also realized that Combs had brought three guns, and there were three of them in the car. 'It was the first time I realized my life was in danger,' James said. When they arrived at Mel's Diner about 10 minutes later, Knight was gone. Combs told James to drive around the block, but Knight was nowhere to be found. A few days later, James resigned as Combs' personal assistant, giving six months' notice. Asked by Combs' attorney why he went along with what he presumed to be a potential shooting, James said, 'I didn't think I had the option to say something.' James spoke at length about his two-year stint as Combs' personal assistant, saying it was an intense job with 20-hour days. 'There were definitely times where I worked 21 days straight,' he said. He recalled a joke often repeated by Combs' security detail: 'Do you know what rhymes with 'tired'? 'Fired.'' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Diddy Stopped 'Freak-Off' To Confront Suge Knight In Los Angeles, Cassie Testifies
During her bombshell testimony against Sean 'Diddy' Combs Tuesday (May 13), Cassie Ventura alleged that one of their 'freak-offs' was put on hold so that the Bad Boy founder could confront rival Suge Knight at a Los Angeles diner. The 'Me & U' singer made the reveal during the second half of her testimony Tuesday (May 13) as she detailed having a 'freak-off' in LA that Puff cut short after hearing Knight was at a nearby restaurant. 'We were having a freak off in one of his homes in L.A. and he said Suge was at Mel's Diner and we packed up and drove down there,' Ventura testified, as per NBC. 'I was screaming and crying, 'Please don't do anything stupid.' I didn't know what they were going to do.' While Ventura didn't go into further detail, Puff and Suge's longstanding rivalry stretches all the way back to the 1990s East Coast vs West Coast rap feud that led to the deaths of both Knights' Death Row artist, Tupac Shakur, and Puff's Bad Boy artist, The Notorious B.I.G. More recently, Suge — who is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence — teased that he knows 'secrets' about Diddy's past. 'I'll tell you what, Puffy, your life is in danger 'cause you know the secrets of who's involved in that little secret room you guys are participating in,' Suge said on his Collect Call with Suge Knight podcast September 2024. 'You know they gonna get you if they can… I turned myself in. Sometimes you gotta face the music, that's most of the time.' Knight further taunted, 'Puffy, I'm gonna give you some real advice. Two quick things. You gotta make a decision. When you go to prison, either you're gonna be standing up pi**ing or squatting, sitting down pi**ing'. I advise you to try to take the first one 'cause if you squatting and pi**ing you know what that means. Do not do your time going by Brother Love. Brother Love is not a good code name.' Combs is currently on trial for racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. More from 50 Cent Mocks Diddy After Claim He Made Escort Perform Urine-Related Sex Act On Cassie Male Sex Worker Claims Diddy "Directed" Sex Between Him And Cassie, Testifies To Seeing Abuse Hotel Security Guard Testifies To Day Diddy Assaulted Cassie, Plays Footage In Court
